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Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
The Western Kentucky football team is the intercollegiate football team representing Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The team is currently coached by statsheetstuffer. The team plays its home games at the campus's Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium, with a capacity of 22,000. Throughout its 3-year history, the team has emerged as one of the best teams in Conference USA. History statsheetstuffer era (2018-2020) The team was part of the C-USA expansion before the 2018 season. Coach statsheetstuffer left Wyoming to take the job. In 2018, The team started out by losing games to Alabama, Louisville, SMU and Texas by very large margins. They rallied, winning most of the games in their conference schedule, and ended up at .500 before losing to Hawaii 14-49 in their bowl game. Alexander Hardison was named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year. In 2019, Western Kentucky lost games early in the season, but cruised through their conference schedule following a scheme and quarterback change and finished second in the division, at 5-7. They were selected to play the 7-5 San Diego State Aztecs in the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but lost in a close game. Benjamin Chappell and Daniel Spivey were top contributors on the defensive side of the ball. So far in the statsheetstuffer era, the Hilltoppers had not beaten Louisville or Kentucky but had dominated their rivalry with Middle Tennessee by starting 2-0 in the series. The Hilltoppers, coming off a good recruiting class, were picked to finish as a top 3 team in the conference. They opened the season with a close loss against Oklahoma State, 45-41. The team followed it up with two more impressive performances against quality teams that resulted in close losses. Riley West, the redshirt freshman starting at quarterback, did not disappoint. He performed very well with a stunning performance against a ranked Virginia team. Looking for redemption, the Hilltoppers cruised past Louisiana Tech by a score of 28-10. The rest of the season would continue to follow the results of the Louisiana Tech game - the Hilltoppers, behind the arm of RIley West and a great defensive line unit, went undefeated in the conference (the first time in C-USA history) and cruised to an 8-4 record. They won the C-USA East for the first time, and although they lost their postseason games, they would still finish with an 8-6 record. On the recruiting trail, the Hilltoppers picked up their best recruit in school history, DT Felix Jennings (#2 DT, #23 Natl per CrootScoop.com). All-time record vs. C-USA opponents This is the Hilltoppers' football record against current Conference USA opponents through the 2019 season. Season-by-Season Records Bowl games The Hilltoppers have appeared in 3 bowl games, posting a record of 0-3. Individual Award Winners Players *'C-USA Defensive Player of the Year' :Alexander Hardison - 2018 CFBHC Season All-Americans All-Conference Players *'2018' :Alexander Hardison :Bryan Nicholson *'2019' :Curtis Herrera *'2020' :Benjamin Chappell :Janoris Callahan External Links 2018 Depth Chart 2019 Depth Chart Category: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers